Pressure
by SkyTate
Summary: They say high school changes everyone...
1. Prologue

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

**Note:** I don't know if I ever gonna start this fic…. Let me know what you think about it and try too guess who is who. The five person will be the 5 SPD rangers

* * *

**Person 1.** She's thought of the most perkiest girls in school. Everyone knows her name. Her family is one of the richest in the city; but that doesn't effect how she acts, unlike other girls. She has some of the best grades in the school, and to top it all off, all of the guys crush on her. But deep inside this girl, she feels ugly, fat, and disgusting. After meeting a friend at a singing camp over the summer, she starts a habit, that she cannot seem to break. She hides it from everyone, except for one guy, who she confides in.

**Person 2.** He's a jock, a huge one. The girls fling onto him, and stick to him like glue. He slacks off in school, and barely passes every year, but just gets by because of his father, who owns the biggest company in the city. His father pushes him in sports, pushes him too hard. His father tells him in order to succeed, you have to be built right. The jock takes that in the wrong way, and starts something he'll never be able to stop unless he tries.

**Person 3.** She used to be so popular; oh so popular. But now, after a summer of tragedies, she betrays her friends and loses them all. Going to drugs and thoughts of suicide for her only resort, will she risk her life to get rid of her pain?

**Person 4.** He's the new guy in town. He recieves more stares than he ever has in his life in the hallways. He's mysterious, slick, and different. His home life is something he rarely talks about; ne never talks about it. After losing his mother to suicide when he was only 3, his life has never been the same. His father's never home, but when he is, it's a complete hell. His school shuts him out, except for one girl, the one girl who learns more about him than anyone ever will. But when his father finds out about this girl, and the things she knows, things turn out for the worst.

**Person 5.** Every girl in the school loves him. Most of his best friends are girls. No one knows why he rarely hangs out with guys; but he does. He's gay. No one in his life knows; not even his best friends. But when a note falls into the wrong hands, everyone in the school might just find out what this man has hidden inside of him for the most of his teen years, which may send his life into a downward spiral.

**Summary: 5** people, the best of friends. 1 year that changes them all; for all different reasons. The year just happens to be their senior year, one of the most important year of their academic careers. Could their careless mistakes risk their chances of going off to college? Risk their friendships? Could they ruin their chances of success? Could some of them even ruin their chances of living?


	2. Don't Believe The Hype

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

**Note: ** ok here we are… the first five chap we'll talk about the situation with every 5 rangers. Enjoy!

* * *

_**1 Don't Believe The Hype**_

I hate food. I really do. All they contain are calories, carbohydrates, cholesterol, and fats. Ugh, fats. Fats are the worst substances every created by man kind. Saturated fats, unsaturated fats, trans fats. I could repeat those names in my sleep; I probably already do. But as much as I despise food, I can't help but eat everything in site. It grosses me out how much I eat sometimes, but it's not my fault. It's normal for teens in my family to eat this much around my age, it's hereditary. I can't stand it though. At times, it feels like I have no control over how much I eat. Holidays are the worst. That's when I eat everything in sight, even if I don't like it.

Did I mention I hate food?

I haven't hated food for my entire life. I've loved it, up until this past summer. I went to a singing camp, and met this girl named Kira. When I first saw her, I was stunned. She was absolutely gorgeous. Everything about her was perfect, especially her figure. I've loved my body for the past seventeen years of my life, and I never wanted to trade it in, until I met her. We got along great at first, since she was my roommate, along with 4 other girls. It worked out perfectly. I've asked her one night how she got the body she had, and she held nothing back. Just thinking about that night makes me cringe, even though I'm on that route now.

**_Summer 07_**

Syd plopped down on her bed in her room, and flipped open a magazine. Kira was sprawled out on her bed next to her, listening to her iPod. Syd looked over at her, and observed her body with detail. Her legs were well toned, her arms were muscular, but not _too_ muscular, her thighs were a perfect size, and her waist was the kind of waist girls everywhere dreamed of having. Syd threw the magazine in her hand onto the floor, and poked Kira in the arm.

"Hmm?," Kira took an earphone out of her ear.

"How'd you get your body?," Syd asked, looking at Kira

Kira rose an eyebrow, and took out her other earphone. She cleared her throat, and sat upright on her bed, her legs crisscrossed.

"Want me to show you?"

Syd shrugged. "Um.. I guess so!"

"Okay," Kira stood up, "we'll go to my normal spot. My stash is there."

Syd got off her bed, and followed Kira out the door. The door slammed shut behind them, sending a loud noise through the camp. They didn't care, even if it was midnight.

They both walked side by side, in complete silence, until they reached a garbage can in the middle of the woods. It reaked up the entire spot they were in. Syd held her breath, almost bringing her hand to her nose.

"Whew," Kira waved her hand in front of her nose, "I have to change the bag soon, don't I?"

Syd nodded, slightly laughing. She stopped when she saw Kira bend down to the ground. She soon stood back up, with a box in her hand. In the box were bags of chips, cookies, candies, anything you could think of. Syd felt her mouth begin to water at the sight of her favorite food in the entire world: Lemonheads. Kira grabbed at least 2 bags of cookies and 3 cans of Coke, and dropped the box to the ground.

"Isn't that Coke warm?," Syd questioned.

Kira opened one of the bags of cookies. "Yes. That's the way I drink it." She handed Syd the cans of Coke.

"Hold them for me while I eat."

"You're eating both of those bags?"

Kira nodded, stuffing her face with at least 5 cookies. She gulped them down, and quickly put another 5 into her mouth. In the timespan of 5 minutes, the entire bag was gone. She opened up the other bag, and ate it almost as fast.

"Give me one," her muffled voice said, pointing to a can in Syd's hand. Syd held out the Coke. "Thanks," Kira grabbed it out of Jordin's hand. She snapped it open, and drank it down in one gulp. She took another one from Syd, and gulped it down smoothly.

"Last one," Kira said. She shook the can up, and opened it soon afterwards. Bubbles spilled out of it, but she didn't care. She gulped it down, the bubbles and suds stinging her throat as she did. Kira threw the can to the ground, and grabbed Syd's arm.

"That's how you lose weight?," Syd asked, "I think that's how you gain it."

Kira shook her head. "_This_ is how I lose weight."

Syd watched as Kira placed her right index finger on her tongue. Seconds later, Syd could no longer see her finger. Kira dug her finger down her throat, and almost immediately everything she had just eaten left her body. Jordin turned her head at the sight of the upchuck, and nearly puked herself.

Kira did this for the next 5 minutes. The echoes of her vomiting filled the woods, but Syd soon figured out why Kira chose this place. It was in the middle of camp. No one came out here, it was too far out.

Kira picked a washcloth from out of the box, and wiped her mouth clean. She reached into her pocket, and took out a few breathmints, and popped them into her mouth.

"Now you know," Kira said, covering her mouth with both of her hands. She was checking her breath, Syd realized.

Syd didn't say anything back to Kira. She just nodded. She was shocked at the fact that Kira was doing this to herself, because she'd never do that to herself. Too gruesome.

They both walked back to camp, and quickly went back to what they were doing before they had went on their little adventure. Kira fell asleep soon afterwards, but Syd didn't.

She laid in her bed, wide awake. She was reliving what she had endured today, and it wasn't the Kira thing. At practice today, she was chosen to sing a solo in front of record producers, and everyone else in the camp. It was easy for her, she hadn't been nervous at all. After she sang, they all gave her good comments. But on her way out, she was given a slip, like everyone else. On the slips were comments, of what they could work on.

She'd gotten good comments, until she read halfway down the page. One of the producers had said she was pretty, but could lose a few pounds. Those comments didn't effect her then: but they did now.

Syd now realized she needed to lose weight if she actually wanted to live her dream, which was to obviously sing professionally. She'd always concidered herself a curved girl, but it didn't matter to her. All of the guys liked her anyways. She was constantly hit on, asked out, you name it. She always turned them all down though, and she didn't know why. None of the guys at her school appealed to her.

But now, the words 'lose a few pounds' stung her like never before. She thought her figure was fine. She was always complimented on it, no one ever pointed out her flaws, except for her brother, but that's expected from them. They're always that rude. But now someone thought the complete opposite of her. Syd never thought she needed to lose weight before.

She now realized she had to, and because of Kira, she knew exactly how to.

**_Present day_**

After meeting Kira, and learning the truth about her, I've never been the same. After that day at camp, I've never been the same. I've tried diets, fasting, stuff like that, but nothing has worked. I have avoided and avoided trying to do what Kira does, but right now, it seems like the right thing to do. I don't want to be fat anymore. When I look in the mirror, I see someone ugly. I never used to look at myself this way before, but now I see myself in a different light.

I asked my friends if they thought I was fat, but they all said no. Psh, what do they know? Nothing of course. They're just sugar coating their truths. I know they feel differently deep down inside of themselves.

Tomorrow, I'm stopping my current diet. I'm giving up. Even though I don't want to do it, I'm going to. I want to lose all of the weight on me, because I can't stand any of it.

I'm going to lose it, even if it means doing the one thing I've avoided all along..


	3. The Locker Room

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

**Note: ** here is the second story…… time for Jack. Enjoy!

* * *

**_Chapter 2 The Locker Room_**

My father can go to hell, for all I care. Sometimes it seems he wants this more than I do.

I'm a wrestler, well I used to be. Now I'm a bodybuilder, which sucks. I mean yeah, I have the body for it, and the strength to, but I'm not really into it at all. I have other things I'd rather be doing, like actually concentrating on school. Last semester, I failed every single test. Every one. Even finals. I was too focused on lifting weights and working out. I don't even know how I mananged to pass last year. It's not like I purposely failed them; I just had no time to study. I'm rarely in school in the first place. My dad gets me out at 12 every Tuesday and Thursday, so I can prepare even more, which usually leads to me missing school on Wednesday, and typically Friday. It kills my social life. I used to be a popular guy.. I still am. I have the name 'jock' stuck to me. Not cool at all.

I haven't had a girlfriend in over a year. My last one broke up with me because I never spent anytime with her, but the bitterness between us went away. Actually, it never even started. We're still best friends. I consider her my support system, she's the only one I can talk to, because she's the only one who understands.

Her name's Sydney Drew. I don't know if she feels the same way, but I still love her. Doesn't matter anyways. I'd never go down that route again with her, it broke my heart the first time when she broke up with me. I'd rather not go through that again. I know if I were to go out with her again, we'd just end up breaking up again.

My dad never liked Sydney anyways. Her and my dad work together; they don't get along at all. Jordin's dad thinks he pushes me too hard. I feel the same way. But it's not like I can stop him from doing it. My dad is rich because of me.

He owns the biggest company in my city. I was the reason he started it, and now he gets all of his profits from my matches.

It's basically like he's using me just to get money. I hate that.

He's been pushing me even harder lately. He doesn't think I'm working hard enough, he constantly tells me to stop slacking off, because I'll regret it in the end.

I guess I slack off everywhere in life. At school, at home, and at my job. I refer to it as my job, because it really is my job. I chose to do this, but I'd never thought I'd be doing it this long.

It's torture. My body's used to it by now, but it still hurts. At night, I sometimes think about quitting. But I don't want to let my dad down. My mom hates the fact that I do this, but my dad says not to listen to her, so I don't.

A few weeks ago, at a match, I met this group of kids. They won over me in every match. It was the first time in months I had lost a match; I had actually lost 3.

At the match was where I was introduced to my lifesaver. Not the candy. But really, it's a lifesaver. I won't have to work as hard anymore. I don't think my dad realizes how much the words he said to me in the end really meant something, because they did.

**_3 weeks prior.._**

"Yo, Landors, sorry we whooped your ass so bad," Trent Fernandez said from the other side of the locker room.

Jack laughed. "I suck."

"No, you don't," he replied.

"Uh, yeah he does," Conner snickered, pulling on his shirt.

"Oh, thanks for the support," Jack rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I just like telling the truth sometimes," Conner sat down on the bench, and slipped on his sneakers. Jack looked over to Xander Bly, who had beaten him in the match in at least 3 minutes. He was opening up a bottle of pills.

"Xander, pass me them when you're done," Trent said. Xander nodded, took a few pills out, and slipped them down his mouth dry. Jack cringed at the sight.

"Don't they hurt going down your throat?," Jack asked.

"Nah. I'm used to it."

Jack stared at Trent, who was now taking some of the pills himself. Conner crowded around him, waiting for his turn.

"What are those?," Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

Trent burst into laughter. "Are you joking?"

"Does it look like I'm laughing?," Jack snapped back.

Trent turned his head away, and went back to packing his stuff away in his bag. Jack stood, still confused.

"Ever hear of steriods?," Conner asked. Jack' eyes almost fell out of his head. Steriods were illegal, but it's not like that stopped people from using them. Jack rubbed his forehead, as he felt a migrane coming on. "You telling me you don't use them, Jack? Your dad pushes you pretty hard."

"My dad had a hard past with them. They killed his brother," Jack looked down at the ground. "Oh," Xander said, shutting up almost immediately. Jack grabbed his back, and walked out of the locker room silently. He found his dad outside in the parking lot, and ran to the car. He got in, slamming the door shut. His father got in as well, and started to drive home. Jack didn't speak at all. His dad kept saying things to him, but his responses were a head shake or nod.

Suddenly, his dad cleared his throat loudly. "Jack," he said, turning his head.

"Yeah dad?"

"I'm not disappointed in you. Those guys were buffed up. You just need to get up to their level, then you'll be able to beat them. You know, in order to succeed, you need to be built right."

"I know dad, I know," Jack responded. The car became quiet again. All Jack was doing was analyzing the words his father had said to him. He didn't know exactly what he meant, but in his mind, it meant he needed to be as buff as the 3 guys were.

The next day, Jack called Conner's cell phone. He set up a meeting place for them, where Conner would bring him the goods that he needed, in order to succeed.

Jack shuffled his feet up to the corner of the street, where Conner was leaning on the stop sign. He walked up to him, and sighed. "Hand them to me."

"You sure you want them?"

"I'm sure."

Conner reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a bottle of pills. Jack held out his hand, and Conner soon placed the bottle in his hand. Jack looked at Conner, and nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem. Keep in touch?"

"Keep in touch."

Conner turned, and walked back toward his house. Jack just stood at the corner, stashing the pills away in his pocket. He wanted to go home; but he was scared. He didn't want his dad to find these. If he did, he'd be murdered. His dad would probably never forgive him. His dad always told him to never do steriods.. but if he wanted to succeed, it was the only way.

**_Now.._**

Jack stood in front of his mirror. He was home alone. He held the bottle of pills in his hand, and slowly took off the cap. Setting the bottle on his dresser, he took out one pill, and swallowed it down dry. The sides of his mouth burned, but it didn't matter. He took a second one, and swallowed it just as easy.

Maybe this wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

It would help him out in the end, right?


	4. And I'm Sorry, But This Is My Fate

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

**Note: ** here is the second story…… Here's come Z. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3 - **And I'm Sorry, But This Is My Fate**

Why is life worth living?

It's not, in my mind.

I haven't sleeped in weeks. I haven't left my house in nearly a month. I don't answer my phone. I don't reply to emails. I'm very awared that people are worried about me; I don't care. If they were in my position, they'd be in the same state of mind. If they experienced what I experienced, they'd feel the same way.

They don't know what I'm going through right now.

All my friends want me to do is go shopping with them. Talk about boys. Go to parties.

I'm not into that stuff anymore. I never will be again.

At school, I'm popular. A prep. People want to be me, but moreso, people hate me. Half of them don't even know who I am inside. My friends don't even know the real me. I don't even know why I call them my friends. They use me. None of them are real. They're all fake; inside and out. I can't stand half of them. Why did they chose me to be their leader? I don't know. I never will know.

Starting now, I'll never hang out with them again. When school starts tomorrow, I'm ignoring them all. They won't be able to recognize me anyways.

Half of them probably don't even give a shit of what happened to me this summer. They probably don't even know what happened. They won't even care. They'll pretend they do; then they'll forget about it.

I can imagine the situation now. They'll ask me how my trip to Mexico was. I'll tell them I never made it there. They'll brush it off, and just continue talking about their fantastic summer break. They won't even ask why.

I hope they enjoyed theirs, because I didn't.

Seeing your mother kill herself isn't exactly what I call a vacation.

_**3 months ago..**_

Z sat in the front seat of her mother's car, next to her in the passenger's seat. She was currently on her way to the movies, where'd she be meeting her best friends. It would be the last time in 3 months she would see them, since she was going to Mexico the next day.

Her mother pulled in front of the movie theatre, and stopped the car. Z turned her head toward her mom, and smiled at her. Her mom placed her hand on her shoulder, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Mom, don't," Z pushed her mom's face away.

"I love you sweetheart. Don't ever forget that."

Z shot her mom a weird look. "Uh, okay." She opened the car door, and slammed it shut, slightly waving as she walked into the theatre. Her arms were hooked onto two of her other best friend's arms, as they walked in unison to the movie they were going to.

Hours later, Z flipped open her cell phone, and called her mother outside the theatre, to come and pick her up. For countless minutes, she tried and tried to call, but she got no answer. She tried her mom's cell; no answer. Z gripped onto her coat, standing in the cold. She could even see her breath.

Finally, she gave up. She started on her way home, alone, in the city. She passed by her friend's houses, but didn't even bother to ask for a ride home, since she was almost there. When she reached her house, she noticed that there were only two lights on in the house: the living room light, and the upstairs bathroom light in her mother's room. Z climbed the stairs into her house, and threw her stuff onto the ground beside the ground. Her dad wasn't home yet, she could see that from his car still missing from the driveway.

"Mom?," Z called up the stairs. She got no reply. Z didn't make anything of it. She was probably in the shower. She plopped herself onto the couch, and turned on the TV. When she laid back, getting comfortable on the couch, she noticed that there was no noise coming from upstairs.

She now becamed worried.

She shot her body from off the couch, and quickly ran up the stairs, directly into her mother's room. She was instantly alarmed when she saw that her mother's bathroom door was locked shut. Running to the door, she realized that she couldn't unlock it from outside the door. It was only able to be unlocked from inside. Z rammed her shoulder into the door, not making it budge at all.

"Fuck," she said under her breath. She banged her fists on the door, screaming for her mom to let her in.

No reply.

Z looked beside her, to see a hammer lying on her father's dresser. He worked at a contruction site, and he always had tools lying around everywhere. She grabbed it, and immediately broke the door down with it.

When she finally made a hole big enough for her to crawl through, she stopped in her tracks.

Her mother was sitting on the toilet, with the seat down, with a piece of glass in her hands. It was from a broken beer bottle, that sat beside her on the bathroom sink. Beside the bottle, was a bottle of her mother's painkillers.

The bottle was empty. Pills laid out scattered on the floor beside the bathtub.

Z watched as her mother pierced her skin with the glass. She ran the glass up and down her arm, screaming out in pain as she did so. Blood ran down her arm, as she continuously did this. Her mother's eyes filled with tears, as her body finally began to give out.

The piece of glass fell from her hand as Z's mom hunched over in her seat, sending a bing throughout the room. Z pushed her body through the hole she had made in the door, even though it was much smaller than she was. She ran to her mother, and grabbed her wrist, placing her two fingers on the main vein that ran through her arm.

Her pulse wasn't there.

Her mother was gone.

Z had watched with her very own eyes as her mother committited suicide. She didn't even try to stop her. She let her mother kill herself. She grabbed onto her mother's hand, and cried into her shoulder. Her father arrived home soon afterwars, to find his wife dead in his very own bathroom.

At the funeral, Z was asked to speak, but she didn't. She hadn't said a word in days, not even to her own dad. Some of her friends were even at the funeral, but she didn't talk to them either. She didn't even shead a single tear. She just watched as the service went on, sitting next to her grandpa and grandma. After being hugged by every person at the service afterwards, Z scrambled into her room.

She hasn't left since.

_**Now..**_

Life is just not worth living anymore. Why did god want my mom to die? Why did he want her to take her very own life? Some things I just don't understand. I didn't want to see her die. But I did. I didn't want to say goodbye to her, so I didn't.

The last thing she said to me was that she loved me. She never told me she loved me randomly like that, she'd never done that before. That should have sent me a signal, to realize that something was wrong. Why did I have to be so selfish, and stupid?

The real question is, why didn't I say I love you back to her?

I'm full of unanswered questions. I need them answered. But you know what? I'm never going to get them answered. This is all my fault. I have never felt so fucking guilty for something in my life.

Why didn't god want me to take my life? I would have died for her. I would have done anything to save her, even if it meant taking my own life. Life isn't worth living anymore, anyways. I feel betrayed by everyone. No one likes me. Everyone is fake. No one cares about who I really am inside, and if they did, they'd just be pretending.

Why should I even live anymore?

As I stand in front of my bathroom sink, with sharp scissors in my hands, I think about everything that has happened to me in the past 3 months. I think about why I'm going to do this to myself, why I am going to self-harm myself. I know it's not good for you, but right now, quite frankly, I don't care.

Z carefully shut her bathroom door, and turned on her CD player. She blasted it at full volume, which she prayed would soon overpower her screams. She replaced the scissors in her hand, and slowly opened them, placing one of the sharp blades on her forearm. Squinching her eyes shut, she pierced her skin, instantly forcing blood out. She bit on her bottom lip hard, making it bleed as well. She ran the blade across the rest of her arm, dropping the scissors into the sink as soon as she was done. She looked down, to see blood oozing down her arm, onto her sweatpants. Z grabbed the towel on the latchet next to the shower, and pressed it against the cut.

The towel soon turned from white, to bright red.

Z leaned against the sink, her vision becoming blurry. She let go of the towel, and ran her fingers across the incision. She turned on the bathroom sink, and splashed water onto her face. Her vision was a little better now. She grabbed the scissors from in the sink, bent down, and picked up the towel as well.

She opened up her bathroom door, and ran toward her dresser. She threw the towel into it, hiding it as best as she could. Z looked into her mirror, and immediately shot her eyes toward down the cut, that was still bleeding slightly.

As wrong as it seemed, and as wrong as it was, Z felt better now. Doing that to herself, actually made herself feel better. She felt in control now.

With the scissors still in her hand, she placed them into her bookbag, and quickly climbed into bed. She needed to get some sleep for tomorrow. School started tomorrow.

She was now a completely different person.


	5. Whisper To A Scream

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

**Note: ** I Know some of you have waited for this... Sky's turn ladies and gentleman. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4 - **Whisper To A Scream**

Finally, I have an excuse to leave the hellhole I call home. I actually like going to school, but for reasons that no one else has.

Home is hell. Seriously. My mother's dead. She's never coming back. My dad's never home, and when he is, I always wish he wasn't there.

He's an alcoholic fucker. Yes, I call my dad a fucker. He is one. I hate him. Most people in the world take the word hate for granted, but I don't. I hate my father. My mother would too.

Ever since she died, my father's turned for the worst. First, he lost his job, and got a new one. He settled for the crappy janitor job at Richardson's company. My dad is a janitor. When other kids are asked about their father's jobs, they get to say 'doctor' or 'teacher' or 'manager'. I get to say 'janitor'.

Humiliating.

Ever since I was seven, my life has been worthless. I sometimes wish I were dead.

My dad hits me. He doesn't just hit me. He abuses me.

With chairs, knifes, belts, desks, tables, cars. You name it, he uses it.

When I was little, I used to scream my way out of it, and he'd stop for a while. Now, I'm older, and I hold it all in, so the beating lasts longer, which makes it worse to bare. But I'm not going to be a wuss, and screech like a 5 year old out of it. I'm a man now. I won't let myself.

I go to school with bruises on my face, arms, legs. People ask. I lie. They believe me.

How fucking stupid of them. Can they at least figure out that I come to school with different hand marks on my face every week? Don't they realize I use the same excuse every time?

They don't. They just listen to me, because I'm that believeable.

I don't really think I am.

Although it's only the teachers who ask me, because I have no friends, except for a few, who are dropouts. I hardly hang out with them anyways.

I hang out with myself. Me, myself, and I. It's fun.

Can you tell I'm being sarcastic?

I hate being alone. I hate being the outcast in the classroom. I'm always in the back corner, with my hood over my head. My teachers never call on me, but somehow, I do good in school. Don't ask me why, because I don't know how I do.

I'm quiet on the outside, but inside, I'm different.

All I want is a friend. One single friend, to confide in. That I can talk to. Hang out with. Do stuff with.

I'll never get one.

My dad and I just moved here, so once again, I'm going to a new school where no one knows me. I'll have no friends again. No one will talk to me.

I'll be a loner, it's nothing new.

**_At school.._**

Sky walked down the the strange hallway of the school. It was his senior year, which he was very thankful for, because in one year, he'd be out of here. Out of this city. Out of this state.

Away from his dad.

He approached his locker, and slowly opened it, throwing his empty backpack in it. He slammed his locker shut, and turned to his first class. As he walked down the hallway, a girl tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?," he snapped, turning around.

The girl smiled at him, and waved. "Hi!"

Sky stared at her, but managed to smile a little. "You're Sky Tate, aren't you?"

He nodded.

The girl let out a squeal, which made Sky jump a little. "Yay! I found you! Your dad works for my dad."

"Cool."

"You don't talk much," she said, "but I just wanted to let you know that your homeroom is the other way. Why do I know this? Because we're in the same homeroom! Want me to show you there?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever."

The girl smiled, and pulled on Sky's jacket, forcing him to walk her speed. They walked, side by side, and slipped into homeroom just before the first bell rang. She pushed Sky into a seat, and sat next to him.

"None of my friends are in this homeroom," she said.

"And I'm your friend?"

"You could be!," she grinned.

"I don't know your name," Sky said.

The girl laughed, flipping her hair to the other side of her neck. "I'm Sydney Drew."

"Well, then, Sydney Drew," Sky began, "thanks for being my friend."

"So we're friends? SWEET! My goal for today was to meet someone new, and I did. YAY!," Syd giggled.

Sky was broughten aback by the overly perky girl. It made him feel happy for once, to know that he had met someone like her, to brighten up his life.

Now he had a friend.

The bell rang, and the students rushed out of the room into the hallways. Syd followed Sky to his classes, showing him to each one. After 4th period, Sky went to his locker alone, and when he shut it, someone accidently bumped into him, making him fall to the floor.

**_Flashback.._**

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?," Sky's father angrily screamed from the other side of the kitchen. Sky gripped onto the sides of the entryway.

"I was watching a movie with Drew and Boom! I'm sorry dad! I'm sorry I'm late," Sky pleaded.

"I TOLD YOU TO BE HOME BY 10. IT'S 10:05."

"That's only 5 minutes," Sky said. Sky's dad threw the beer can in his hand to the ground, and ran toward Sky. He grabbed both of his arms before Sky could start to get away.

"Only 5 minutes?," Sky's dad gritted his teeth. He forced Sky's hands to let go of the doorway, and pushed him to the ground, slamming his head onto the wooden floor. He soon crawled ontop of him, and rapidly started punching him in the ribs. Punch by punch, the pain became more unbearable. Sky bit down on his tongue, and soon felt the taste of blood in his mouth. He squirmed, as his dad pulled him off the ground, and threw him against a wall. He put his arms above his head, making it so Sky couldn't run away.

"You will never stay out past the time I tell you to again, RIGHT?," Sky's father screamed into his face. The smell of his beer-filled breath surrounded Sky now.

"Right," Sky murmured.

"WHAT? LOUDER PLEASE," Sky's dad said.

"RIGHT!," Sky screamed.

Sky's dad took Sky off the wall, and nearly pushed him up the stairs. "Go to bed, and don't come out until the morning."

Sky ran up to his room, and slammed the door shut. He crawled into a corner, and brought his knees up to his throbbing chest, and began to cry. He rocked back and forth, hitting the wall with his back each time. He looked to the ground, and picked up the picture of his mother he'd always look at after a beating.

"Mommy, make it all stop .. please," he repeatly whispered through his sobs, "make it stop."

_**Now.**._

"MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!," he screamed in the middle of the empty hallway. His body was moving around, as someone tried to force his body down.

"Dude, dude, are you okay?," a guy said into his ear beside him. Sky jerked his body up, and shot a glance to the guy.

It was Landors's son. He'd met him only once, but he recongized his face. Sky nodded, and Jack offered him a hand. He quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry I bumped into you. You started freaking out afterwards. What was that about?"

Sky shook his head. "It's nothing."

jack gasped as he saw Sky's side. His shirt had lifted up, to reveal a large black and blue mark covering the right side of his waist.

"Dude .. what happened to you there?," Jack asked, a worried gaze filling his eyes.

"I fell down the stairs at my house."

"Oh. Okay. I'll talk to you later? Maybe at lunch?," Jack smiled.

"Yeah. At lunch."

Once again, no one realized how badly Sky was lying. Except for the girl who was standing behind all of the lockers, watching it all happen. She knew he was lying. She saw it in his eyes. She realized what was going on as soon as he started screaming on the floor, when he was flinging his arms all around.

That girl was Syd.


	6. Not So Great, Like, Totally

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

**Note: ** here is the last of the group…. Bridge ladies and gentleman!

* * *

Chapter 5 - **Not So Great, Like, Totally**

So, like, Fergie's kinda my hero. For serious.

Every song she puts out is like, oh my GOD! Brilliance. I met her this summer too, which is totally why she's my hero. When I met her, she told me my hair was absolutely gorgeous and always keep them that way or else dye them.

Which is exactly why I had a hair appointment yesterday.

Now my hair is beautiful. I totally spent like an hour on it this morning just to make it perfect. It _is_ my senior year, ya know.

School's not a walk in the park for me though. I get rediculed for everything I do. My girlies keep me strong though; I love them all. They're basically all I got, since the boys stay away from me. They think I'm an alien or something.

No, they actually scream remarks at me. The same ones each time.

The main one is fag. I get called a fag almost once a day. By any random person, usually guys though. No girl has ever called me one, and I don't know why, because I am one.

That's right. I'm gay.

And I'm proud of it too.

It's not like I'd let my sexuality hold me back. My sexuality makes me who I am, and I love that. But my life isn't great, no, it's not at all. My twin sister moved away from here last year, and no one has seen her since. No one knows if she's dead, alive, or even in this country anymore. She left me here, to live with my messed up mother and father, who don't even really pay attention to me anyways, since I'm never home. When I am home, my mother always hangs with me. We talk a lot, since my dad hates my guts, and doesn't talk to me anymore.

Last month, I came out. I told my parents I'm gay. My mom cried, harder than I've ever seen her or anyone in my life cry. She hugged me, and sobbed into my shoulder for nearly an hour.

My dad on the other hand, walked out of the house, and didn't come back for a week. Since then, he hasn't spoken a word to me, and whenever I'm in the same room as him, he gives me these looks that are so hurtful that I can't even begin to explain. He's always hated homosexuals, which has been kind of hard for me throughout my life, since I figured out that I .. you know, don't exactly find girls hot in any way. Hiding my sexuality from my dad, and my mom too, was hard. I had to fake dates with girls often. Never having a girlfriend freaked my mom out, since she claims that I should be a 'charmer'. Who says charmer?

_**A month ago..**_

Bridge, his mom, and his dad sat around the living room. His parents sat next to each other on the couch, Bridge sat on the floor.

"Hurry, I have to get to work soon. What do you have to tell us?," Bridge's dad said.

He looked down at the ground, and played with his hands. It was hard to figure out how to exactly tell his parents this. He'd hidden it from them. He'd lied to them. He should have told them sooner, but he waited. Now it was the moment he'd been trying to avoid for nearly 5 years.

Bridge let out a big sigh, before taking a deep breath. He calmed himself down, and sat straight up, bring his head up, to make complete eye contact with his parents.

"I'm gay," Bridge blurted out. A gasp filled the room, coming from his mother. She brought her hand up to her mouth, tears falling down from her eyes almost immediately. His father stared at him, with a blank expression.

"Dad.. I'm sorry," Bridge whispered. His mother extended her other arm, to wrap it around his dad, but he resisted. He pushed her arm away, slammed his fist down on the coffee table, and ran out of the house, his face filled with anger and red.

Bridge's mom got off of the couch, and ran to her son, engaging him in a tight hug. She sobbed into his shoulder, mumbling things into his ear that he couldn't make out. He soon began to cry, letting it all out. His mom let go of him, and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

"Are you hungry?"

Bridge shook his head no.

"Are you okay?"

Once again, his reply was no.

"Do you wanna be alone?," his mother asked, tears still falling.

Bridge nodded, getting up. He patted his mom on the back, before venturing his way into his room. He practically pounced onto his bed, grabbing a pillow as soon as he laid sprung out on his bed. Bridge stuffed his face into the pillow, and let go. For the next 3 hours, he cried. He bawled. He sobbed. His entire body shook during this. He was still in complete shock, because he'd actually done it. The thing he'd avoided for so long was now out in the open. He was proud of himself, very proud. Even though his parents were devestated, none of that mattered right now. His father cleared his mind. He completely forgot he'd even left the house.

Then it came to him.

His dad was a homophobic.

The smile that was across his face quickly turned to a frown.

_**Now..**_

I hated the fact that I was gay when I was younger. At first, I thought I was bisexual, but once I realized it, I knew I wasn't. I always found myself staring at guys, not girls. I always got butterflies around certain guys; never around girls.

That's when I figured out that I wasn't bisexual, no matter how much I wanted to be.

I've hid the fact that I'm gay my entire high school years, from every single person I know. Except from one girl. She came over to my house this summer, since I needed someone to talk to. It was right after I came out to my parents. I felt like pouring my emotions out to someone, and she was the only one I knew I could let it all out, because she'd understand.

Sad thing is, I haven't talked to her since. I think she went to camp, or something. I wish she could have called, texted, emailed, imed, or something. Sometimes I really need someone to talk to, aside from my girls.

My girls .. oh I love them. But sometimes I really hate the fact that I have completely no guy friends. I want at least one, or two. I mean, I have a few, but I never hang out with them, since they too think I'm gay. They get all weird around me sometimes, when they don't even KNOW if I am or not.

At school today, I met a guy. He's a pretty cool dude; he's new, so he hasn't heard any rumors about me yet. At least I don't think so. I guess he's kind of cute .. but I don't find him that attractive. He likes a girl anyways, so I'd never have a chance with him anyways. It's only the first day of school, but of course, my asshole English teacher assigned us with a project already.

The project is to learn about each other. You have to choose 4 people, set up a date, talk to each other, learning about each person's life.

It sounds so effing boring. I don't want to do it.

But I have to. Ugh.

I'm excited about tomorrow though. There's this new thing at our school, called group. It's for teens who just need to talk to other people about issues in their lives, or just need someone to talk to, like a friend. They're separated into grades, so I'll be with teens who have problems that are my age, which is TOTALLY annoying. Seniors are so annoying. They cry over anything.

But I'm going anyways. I need at least some people to talk to.


	7. Hiding

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

**Note: ** ok from now on the story really begin….. enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6 - **Hiding**

"Bridge, I'm not going to this 'group' thing. I don't do group," Sky said, throwing the pink flyer at Bridge's face. Bridge picked it up, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"You're coming."

"No," Sky said, "I'm not."

Bridge grabbed onto Sky's arm, and forcefully pulled him down the stairs. "You're coming with me."

Sky rolled his eyes, and pushed Bridge off of him. He walked down the rest of the stairs, as Bridge followed. They walked until they reached the library, where the it would be held. Sky looked inside the library door window. He quickly ran behind Bridge, and ducked "You go in first."

"Why?," Bridge rose an eyebrow.

"Uh.. the principal's in there."

Bridge looked behind him, and laughed. "No, the principal's right there," he pointed.

Sky blushed. "Uh. I just want you to go in first."

"Whatever," Bridge opened the door, and walked into the air-conditioned library. Sky shuffled in behind him, ducking behind his hood once again. He followed Bridge to a table like a puppy, and slammed himself into a chair. He set his head down on a table, and covered his face with his arms.

Bridge soon tapped Sky on the shoulder. "I know why you're hiding. She left, it's okay to come out now," Bridge whispered. Sky immediately lifted his head up, and sighed. "Finally. I can breathe again!"

Bridge snickered. "Look beside you."

Sky wished he hadn't. "Hi Sky!," Syd perkily exclaimed. Sky shot a look over to Bridge. "I hate you," he mouthed. Bridge replied with a huge grin.

"SKY! I can't believe, you're, like here! Why would you come here? You don't need to come here! You're too cool for this," sYD said. Sky internally laughed at Syd, since she talked at the speed of light.

"Bridge dragged me here," he muttered. Bridge playfully slapped Sky. "Shut up. You didn't resist!"

"You pulled me down the stairs!"

Bridge rolled his eyes, and started to walk away. "I gotta go. I'm meeting my girls at the mall."

Sky nearly jumped out of chair. He walked over to Bridge, and pulled him by the shirt. "You're.. you're.. you're leaving?," Sky stuttered.

"Yep! The group thing isn't until tomorrow, and I'm not going anyways!"

"WHAT?," Sky's eyes bulged out of his forehead, "you can't leave me here with .. her!"

"Yes I can," Bridge grinned, ripping Sky's hand off of his shirt. With that, he quickly walked out of the library. Sky stood in the same position, with butterflies forming in his stomach. He felt sweat forming on his forehead, and his heart began to race.

Sky _liked_ Syd. He had never liked a girl this quickly before, but he was sure he did. The moment she tapped him on the shoulder, he knew. Just everything about her made him forget his life at home, his reality. He knew he should be happy about being alone with her, but he wasn't. He'd never been left alone with a girl before that he'd actually liked. His friends back home always used to set him up on dates with girls, but they usually turned out to be lesbians, whores, sluts, etc. Those types of girls turned on his friends; but not him. He liked clean cut girls with personality, that could make him laugh, make him smile.

Like Syd.

He turned around, and decided to face his fears. He shuffled his feet back to the table, and sat down quietly. Syd was currently slouched down in her chair, looking at a magazine.

"Ahem," Sky cleared his throat, taking the magazine out of Syd's hands. "Oh, you came back!," she said, sitting up straight, "you were just standing over there, looking into space. For like 5 minutes."

Sky's breath got caught in his throat. "Uh, I was just looking at a book."

Syd rose an eyebrow. "You read?"

Sky nodded. "Yep."

He really did too. Sky had been into books since he was 3 years old. He used to read books over and over again until he had them memorized. Once he reached the 2nd grade, he realized reading wasn't the in thing, so he didn't tell anyone how interested in books he was. But secretly, at home, he read and read until he fell asleep. When he entered middle school, he got more interested in writing. He wrote deep into the night; sometimes he never even slept. He was engrossed in it. Hidden away in his closet, were thousands of stories he had written.

Writing was a way of getting away from it all, and letting everything out. Instead of talking about stuff to people, he wrote about it on paper. It was his only way of relief from his hectic life.

"Sky, Sky," Syd snapped her fingers in front of his face, "are ya in there?"

Sky rubbed his forehead. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About.."

He looked around the room. Several people were around, and he didn't want them listening in on to their conversation. He hated when people did that.

"Wanna go outside?"

"Uh, sure?," Syd smiled.

Sky stood up, and without even thinking first, grabbed Syd's hand. She squeezed it tight before they left the library, and walked out of the school. They walked straight to a bench nearby, and sat down immediately.

Sky looked to Syd, who was looking down at her feet. His eyes fell to where their hands laid on the bench. A knot formed in his stomach. They were still holding hands. Neither of them had even realized it.

That made him smile.

"Syd," he said. She quickly looked up, sending her curly hair into a frenzy. "What?"

"Are you hungry?"

It took Syd a while to answer, but Sky made nothing of that. She fixed her hair a little before finally opening her mouth.

"Yeah, I am!," she grinned.

Sky took a deep breath, and closed his eyes before actually asking. He couldn't believe he was actually going to do it. He'd never asked a girl to go anywhere with him, but for once, he wanted to.

"Wanna go to my house? My dad's ordering pizza tonight," Sky said, which was a total lie. His dad probably wouldn't even be home, and if he was, he'd be drunk. That was the usual thing.

Surprisingly, Syd quickly answered with a "Yes."

----

Sky slowly opened the door of his house, and led Syd in. They walked immediately up to his room, having Sky seen his father in the living room with beer cans scattered across the floor. Syd bounced onto Sky's bed, and nearly fell off onto the other side.

"I'm sorry it's not clean in here. I don't have a mother to tell me to clean it."

Syd sat up on the bed, and patted the space beside her. "Why not?"

"She's dead," Sky sat down, taking his coat off. He laid it down on the floor next to him, and laid down on the bed. Syd went back to her position before, and laid down next to him.

"How'd she die?"

"My dad's never told me."

"Oh," the room became silent. Sky saw Syd staring down at the floor, and he knew exactly what she was staring at. She watched as she extended her arm to the floor, and picked up an object.

The picture of his mom.

"Is this her?," she asked, holding it in front of Sky's face. He nodded, quickly looking away. "She's pretty. You look like her."

"It's better than looking like my dad," he admitting.

"Hey, don't be mean," Syd laughed, setting the picture down on the bed.

"Why don't you tell him that?," he said to himself. The room was quiet again, and Sky could clearly hear his father downstairs. He wasn't sure if Syd could, she was distracted at the moment. She had gotten off the bed, and was now looking through his closet and drawers.

Sky shot up as he heard a loud bang coming from downstairs. He got off the bed, and walked to his door. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"OKAY!," Syd said, with one of Sky's shirts in hand.

He started down the stairs, and unknowingly, Syd curiously follwed him. She wanted to know where he was going. As he walked into his living room, she hid behind a corner, and watched from 3 feet away.

"Dad, what just happened? I heard a loud noise."

"This mother fucking TV happened! It's a piece of shit!," he screamed, throwing the remote across the room once again.

"Want me to fix it?," Sky asked. Sky's father stood up from the couch, and opened up another can of beer. "What do you think?," he said.

Sky nodded, and walked to the television. To him, it looked fine. Nothing was wrong with it. This always happened. When his dad drinks, his vision becomes impaired, and he sees things differently. Sky always tries to fake fix things, but to his dad, it doesn't look fixed.

Leading to more abuse.

Sky shook as he played with the cords behind the TV, knowing what was coming soon. He messed around with the cords for a few minutes, until he was satisfied.

"There," he said, standing up. He tried to get away, but soon enough felt the tight grip of his father's hand around his neck. His father then wrapped his other arm around his waist, and pulled him closer to him.

"You didn't fix it AGAIN! That's nothing new, huh? You're such a worthless piece of shit, that I have to call my son!," his father yelled into his ear. Sky found himself lying face down on the floor, with his father kneeling down next to him. Sky cringed at every hit his father made to his back, with his face lundged down into the floor. He gasped for breath every time his dad took a break, but it just kept going and going.

When he finally got the time to look up, for some odd reasons, his eyes went straight to a corner.

The corner where Syd was.

He could see her clearly, even though she thought she appeared hidden. He could see her, with her hands covering her eyes. Sky's father picked him up with one hand, and stood him up straight.

"Now, you, go up to your room, and don't come out until I leave for work, you hear me?," he gripped onto Sky's shoulders. Sky nodded.

"YOU HEAR ME?"

"I HEAR YOU!," Sky screamed back. His father let go, and pushed him toward the stairs. He watched as Syd sprinted up the stairs, trying to make it seem like she hadn't seen a thing.

Sky walked into his room, to see Syd laying on his bed again. She smiled at him as he walked in.

"Hi!," she said.

Sky sat down next to her. "Hi!," he replied in the same voice.

Syd suddenly wrapped her arms around Sky's neck, and hugged him tightly. "You're a cool guy, Sky, don't forget that okay?," she whispered into his ear.

"I won't."


	8. Rain

**Author: **Skytate17

**Title: **Pressure

**Summary: **They say high school changes everyone..

* * *

_**Chapter 7 - Rain  
**_

Sky's eyes shot open. They quickly traveled to the window. Rain hit the window like bullets, as the wind blew furiously outside. As he tried to get up from his bed, he found himself stuck. He squirmed his body around, not knowing what was wrong.

He soon felt something tighten their grip on his waist. Sky's eyes trailed down beside him. He softly gasped. There laying beside him was Sydney, who was fast asleep. Her head rested comfortably on his chest, her eyes closed tight. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his waist. It was as if she was holding on for dear life.

Sky bent his head downward, his lips nearly brushing her ear. "Sydney" he whispered, moving a few strays of hair away from her eyes. Her eyes slowly opened, as her grip on him loosened. She lifted her head up, and looked up at Sky, giving him a smile.

"Hi!," she said. She was as perky as she usually was this early in the morning, which amazed Sky. He removed himself from her grip, and sat on the edge of his bed. Running his hand through his messy hair, he turned around.

"Did you fall asleep here?"

Syd nodded. "I think so? I remember we were watching a movie. I think I fell asleep."

"Oh, good," Sky sighed.

"What did you think?"

Sky shrugged it off. "Nevermind."

He turned his attention to his clock. It read 8:30.

"FUCK," Sky exclaimed, jumping off of his bed. Without caring, he stripped right in front of Syd, into different clothes. He threw her a sweatshirt, and told her to throw it on. "We're late."

Syd slipped the sweatshirt over her neck with ease, and laughed. "Don't freak out over it. Your dad can just take us."

"No," Sky bluntly said.

"Why not?," Syd took a hairband off of her wrist, and threw her hair into a messed up ponytail. Sky sprinted over to her, and grabbed her arm. They rushed down the stairs, and out the door.

Sky had forgotten it was raining.

They stood on the sidewalk, already completely soaked. Neither of then had the intention of actually wanting to walk to school in the rain. Syd pulled her sweatshirt over her head, since the sweatshirt oddly had no hood, Sky looked over to his side to see a shivering Syd, with rain running down her forehead. He quickly wrapped his arm around her upper back, and pulled her closer to his chest. Syd softly and carefully wrapped both of her arms around his chest. She looked up at him, grinning ear to ear.

"I like this," she mumbled.

Sky opened his lips, but was soon interrupted by a voice yelling at him from a window nearby. He shot his head up toward the window of his neighbor's house.

His neighbor was Z.

"Sky, get in my house, now," she screamed through the pounding thunder filling the air. Sky nodded, and soon walked to Z's front door, with Syd still on him. They walked up the steps, side by side, arm in arm.

When Z opened the door, Syd almost fell backwards. She had expected to see a different Z, the Z she knew from school. The Z who wore bright clothes, with nicely combed hair, and hardly any make up.

That's not what she saw.

Z looked like she had just gotten thrown through a hurricane and a tornado. Twice. Her hair was not combed at all, it was greasy, and weirdly colored. It was chopped up, not clean cut like Z usually weared it. On her legs she wore grey sweatpants, with drawings all around them. This was not what she expected.

She lead them up her stairs, which were brightly lit. Sky looked like seeing Z like this didn't fase him; but that was because he hadn't known Z for as long as Sky had. Syd and Z used to be best friends .. up until Syd stole Jack Landors from her. She hadn't done it intentionally, but she did. Syd cringed at the thought of it as she walked into Z's room.

_**July 4th, 2006**_

"I'll be right back, Z," Jack whispered into Z's ear, setting his drink down. He quickly walked away, directly into the jacuzzi area, where Syd was. He threw off his shirt, which exposed his very large arm muscles. Girls whooped and hollered around him, as the guys just laughed.

"ARM PORN ALERT!," Wes Collins yelled from his beach chair. He was currently throwing around a very old beachball with his bset friend, Erick. They always acted like 5 year olds together. Erick always cried like one too.

Jack slipped into the jacuzzi, beside Syd. She giggled as he set his arm around her neck. She looked around at all of the girls surrounding her, with jealous glares in their eyes. Jack poked her in the side with his other arm, and she quickly poked him back.

"What do you want?," she asked, slyly smiling.

He blew air into her face, and brought her closer to him. "You."

"Oh, I hate you," Jen said from on the other side of the jacuzzi. Syd laughed, and turned her attention to Jack.

"What about..," Syd made a motion toward to Z, who was currently talking away to others. "Who cares," Jack replied, "you're better."

"Well.. if you want to," Syd said.

Jack nodded. He brought Syd 's face up to meet his, and pressed his lips against his. Soon, his tongue explored Syd 's mouth, as her's entered his. The kiss became more passionate and aggressive as the minutes went on. They didn't notice that everyone had left the jacuzzi, and were watching them, along with everyone else at the party.

Including Z.

Z watched from right beside the jacuzzi as Jack and Syd began to sink down into the water, their hands all on each other. She tried harder and harder to keep the anger in, as each minute went by. Her face became furiously red, as her fists clenched together. Z couldn't take it anymore.

"UGH!," she screamed. Jack quickly let go of Syd, as she jumped right out of the jacuzzi. She wrapped herself in a towel, as Jack stood directly in front of Z.

" Syd, get your ghetto ass over here," Z spat out. Syd walked over, and stood beside Jack, staring down at the ground.

Z fooled around with her hair, searching for the words to say. As they finally came to her, she spoke them like she never had before. It was only a sentence, but a sentence that would mean a lot.

"Choose. Me, or her."

"That's easy," Jack smiled. "Her."

Syd gasped, hiding her face in her hands. Z's eyes immediately filled with tears, as they rushed down her face. She ran into her house, as her friends chased after her.

Jack didn't join them.

_**Now..**_

Syd felt incredibly awkward sitting on Z's very own bed. She looked around the room, which had dramatically changed since the last time she saw it. It was completely dark, everything was. Band posters covered the walls, with lyrics left and right. Clothes were scattered across the floor in every direction. Her bed wasn't even made.

"You're skipping school again?," Sky asked Z.

"Yes."

"Why?," Syd spoke without even thinking.

Z rolled her eyes. "Why do you care?"

Sky laughed. "Wow. It just became insanely tense in here."

"Me and Syd do not have the greatest past. But that's in the past now. It doesn't matter."

"He messed with me too," Syd admitted, "like you said he would."

"WHO?," Sky questioned, very confused.

"Jack Landors" the girls replied in unison.

"You guys went out with him?"

They both nodded. "Biggest mistake I ever made."

"Same here," Z agreed.

"My dad works for his dad," Syd said, "so I always have to see him. Every party we have, he's always there. Completely akward."

"That has to suck," Z said. "It does."

"Wait. That means my dad works for your dad too," Sky said, "this is weird shit."

"I can't believe we're actually talking," Z laughed, "and I can't believe I just laughed."

Syd noticed in Z's garbage can that there were several paper towels soaked in blood. On her desk, was a piece of glass, a few sharp edges, and some scissors. Her eyes trailed off to X's arms, which were covered with a long sleeved shirt.

"Why are there bloody kleenex's in the garbage can?," Syd curiously asked.

She knew she would reply in a lie.

"You know.. girl stuff."

"NASTY!," Sky exclaimed.

Syd couldn't help but laugh at him. She looked at him, and slapped his arm. "Aw, flirting," Z mumbled as she walked toward the bathroom. Sky snickered.

"We're not flirting," Syd replied fastly, her face flushed. Z nodded, and proceeded to walk into the bathroom. She walked out 15 minutes later, with sweat rolling down her face.

"What were you doing in there?," Sky asked.

"Nothing."

Syd stood up, and walked up to Z. She tugged at Z's arm, and pulled her sleeve up, to reveal a fresh cut on her arm. Syd didn't say a word.

"LET GO OF ME!," Z yelled, as Syd kept a tight grip on Z's arm. "It's not what you think!"

"OH REALLY?," Syd screamed back, "then why is their glass on your desk?"

"It's my mom's."

"Throw it out."

"NO!"

Syd pulled Z along as she walked over to her desk, with the objects on it. She carefully picked up the glass, as Z tried to stop her.

"That's disgusting," Syd made a face, "there's blood on it too."

"She used it to kill herself, you BITCH. Why don't you keep your mouth shut for once and think before you speak again," Z ripped herself away from Syd 's grip on her. Syd said not a word, but quickly threw open the door, and ran down the stairs, out of Z's house. Sky followed her, slamming Z's door shut as she did.

Syd ran out into the street, rain falling onto her. She didn't care. Z always made her feel like this. Everytime she attempted to talk to her, to try to get through to her. Everytime. She let out a loud yell, as she felt someone put their arms on her shoulders. She turned around, coming face to face with Sky.

"Let go of me, I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

"I really could care less," Sky replied, his vision becoming blurry as rain entered his eyes. He tried to look directly into Syd, and immediately noticed she was crying. Her sobs were overpowered by the slamming lightning and loud thunder.

As the rain poured down, every thought, every problem, every worry left Syd 's mind as Sky's hand cupped her chin, and pressed their lips together.

Z watched from her bathroom window, as she once again, pressed the same piece of glass that her mother had used against her wrist. The glass fell from her hand onto the ground as her phone rang. She ran out into her room, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Who is this?"

"It's Jack. Jack Landors."


End file.
